Karimoku New Standard: four years on

Back in April during the Milan Furniture Fair I was introduced to a product collection that I hadn’t discovered until this point. Japanese furniture makers Karimoku, known for making furniture over the past 70 years and in more recent years creators of mid-Century inspired furniture.

Fast forward to 2009 and Karimoku decide to enter a more modern furniture market, employing the skills of new designers to breathe fresh life in to the company. Their new company Karimoku New Standard is borne out of a collaboration of some of the most promising international design talents featuring innovative, versatile objects that blend into your individual living environment to find a place in your daily life.

Karimoku’s New Standard brand is a collection made from solid Japanese hardwoods, maple, chestnut and oak although this is not how we traditionally see these materials. Their tradition derives from a deep understanding of craftsmanship, bound together with innovative technologies to build furniture that meets the highest requirements of quality and sustainability.

In an attempt to preserve and revitalise Japanese forests and resume a balance with the local industry, the
hardwood used is gained from low-diameter trees that have previously remained significantly underused, ending up mostly as wood chips for paper pulp.

The collection is certainly “of its time” making use of popular pastel colours, distinctive patterns, shapes and the mixture of materials. With a feeling similar to pieces by HAY and Muuto, Karimoku New Standard should manage to fit in to the contract market well. The question is, how will Karimoku evolve the company over the coming years as styles change and their designs need to continuously update? If this collection is anything to go by, I think they will do well.